Tip-off: Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Boston -4.5, Total: 215

The Celtics hope that playing at home in Game 5 will give them their mojo back.

For most of Sunday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, the teams played a close game. The game was tied at halftime, and Boston outscored the Wizards in the first and fourth quarters. The only stretch that mattered, however, came in the third, when Washington went on an astounding 26-0 run to effectively end the game before the final frame even began. The Wizards’ aggression paired with the Celtics’ sloppiness yielded a series of Boston turnovers, which Washington PG John Wall turned into a seemingly endless stream of fast break baskets for himself and his teammates. Boston committed 20 turnovers in the game, which Washington turned into 34 points; nine and 21 of those, respectively, came in the third quarter. The series now heads back to Boston tied at 2-2 for Wednesday’s Game 5, and the Celtics will look to regain the momentum they used to win the first two games at TD Garden. Since 1996, teams that have scored at least 110 points in at least four straight games and are averaging at least 102 points per game (WAS) are 43-74 ATS against teams that are allowing at least 102 points per game. On the other hand, over the same timeframe, home favorites that have allowed at least 100 points in at least four straight games (BOS) are 44-77 ATS against an opponent that has scored at least 100 points in four straight games. Also since 1996, second-round playoff games are 88-42 Over against totals of at least 210.

While he doesn’t play in a small market or outside of the East Coast’s prime television hours, Wizards PG John Wall (28.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 11.1 APG, 2.1 SPG, 1.1 BPG; all player stats are for playoffs) has long been underappreciated by the national basketball media. That appears to have changed during this postseason, as Wall has been outstanding in only his second career trip to the second round. By some measures, he wasn’t so great in Game 4: He needed 25 shots to get to 27 points, and he committed seven turnovers. His five steals helped crush the Celtics’ collective will, though, and he added 12 assists to his statline. His best game of the series was a 40-point, 13-assist, three-block and three-steal outing in Game 2 in Boston, a game in which SG Bradley Beal (23.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.7 SPG) seemingly forgot to show up. But after 25 total points between Games 2 and 3 on combined 2-for-13 three-point shooting, Beal once again looked sharp in Game 4, though, scoring 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting, nailing three of six from deep. Transition baskets in the third quarter seemed to help him stay in rhythm, as he had 11 points in the period. Forwards Otto Porter Jr. (12.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.7 SPG) and Markieff Morris (11.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.4 BPG) were also strong in Game 4, combining for 34 points, 18 rebounds and seven steals. Porter and C Marcin Gortat (8.8 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG) each had a game-best plus/minus of +34. SG Bojan Bogdanovic (10.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG) had 13 points off the bench.

It has been a tale of two series for Celtics PG Isaiah Thomas (25.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.1 SPG). He was beyond spectacular in Games 1 and 2 in Boston, averaging 43 PPG on 51.8% shooting. That included a 53-point night in Game 2, a game that will go down as lore even in a franchise as storied as the Celtics. Once the series shifted to D.C., though, Thomas cooled all the way off, scoring 13 points in Game 3 and 19 points in Game 4 on 45.5% combined shooting. Considering the fact that he has been pretty much Boston’s only reliable source of offense for the last two-and-a-half seasons, it goes without saying that the Celtics struggle when he isn’t scoring at a high volume. Expect him to be looking for plenty of shots with a rowdy home crowd at his back. The Celtics’ second-leading scorer on any given night is anybody’s guess. Improbably, in Game 4 it was PG Terry Rozier (7.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG), who had 16 points and seven rebounds. His rebounding from the wings has been consistently strong throughout the playoffs. SG Avery Bradley (14.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG) was an offensive no-show with five points, but he did do a good job of guarding Wall in the halfcourt. C Al Horford (15.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.1 SPG) only had 11 points, and his plus/minus of -36 was a team-worst. SF Jae Crowder (13.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG) had a Bradley-like six points; each of the two went 2-of-9 from three.